View Intelligence Dossier Back to 1993 CSV Excel Print All Years

Communications

Airports [time series]

total: 36 usable: 23 with permanent-surface runways: 10 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 1

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

18,200 km total; 12,600 km paved, 3,200 km gravel, 2,400 km improved earth

Merchant marine [time series]

4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,619 GRT/16,302 DWT; includes 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 oil tanker, 2 bulk

Pipelines [time series]

petroleum products 10 km

Ports [time series]

Kingston, Montego Bay, Port Antonio

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

294 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

fully automatic domestic telephone network; 127,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 10 AM, 17 FM, 8 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables

Defense Forces

Affiliation [time series]

(territory of Norway)

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $19.3 million, 1% of GDP (FY91/92)

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 651,931; fit for military service 461,980 (1993 est.); no conscription; 26,445 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 9% of GDP, 22% of work force, and 17% of exports; commercial crops - sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; livestock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk; not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products

Budget [time series]

revenues $600 million; expenditures $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.2 billion; other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.6 billion

Electricity [time series]

1,127,000 kW capacity; 2,736 million kWh produced, 1,090 kWh per capita (1992)

Exchange rates [time series]

Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 - 22.173 (September 1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989), 5.4886 (1988), 5.4867 (1987)

Exports [time series]

$1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum partners: US 39%, UK 14%, Canada 12%, Netherlands 8%, Norway 7%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$4.4 billion (1991 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 April - 31 March

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit cultivation of cannabis; transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South America to North America; government has an active cannabis eradication program

Imports [time series]

$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: fuel, other raw materials, construction materials, food, transport equipment, other machinery and equipment partners: US 51%, UK 6%, Venezuela 5%, Canada 5%, Japan 4.5%

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 2.0% (1990); accounts for almost 25% of GDP

Industries [time series]

tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing, light manufactures

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

52% (1992 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3.7 billion (1992 est.)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$1,500 (1992 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

1.5% (1992 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

The economy is based on sugar, bauxite, and tourism. In 1985 it suffered a setback with the closure of some facilities in the bauxite and alumina industry, a major source of hard currency earnings. Since 1986 an economic recovery has been under way. In 1987 conditions began to improve for the bauxite and alumina industry because of increases in world metal prices. The recovery has also been supported by growth in the manufacturing and tourism sectors. In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert inflicted severe damage on crops and the electric power system, a sharp but temporary setback to the economy. By October 1989 the economic recovery from the hurricane was largely complete, and real growth was up about 3% for 1989. In 1991, however, growth dropped to 0.2% as a result of the US recession, lower world bauxite prices, and monetary instability. In 1992, growth was 1.5%, supported by a recovery in tourism and stabilization of the Jamaican dollar in the second half of 1992.

Unemployment rate [time series]

15.4% (1992)

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 10,990 km2 land area: 10,830 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Climate [time series]

tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Coastline [time series]

1,022 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

subject to hurricanes (especially July to November); deforestation; water pollution

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

none

Irrigated land [time series]

350 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

0 km

Land use [time series]

arable land: 19% permanent crops: 6% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 28% other: 29%

Location [time series]

in the northern Caribbean Sea, about 160 km south of Cuba

Map references [time series]

Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims [time series]

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

bauxite, gypsum, limestone

Note [time series]

strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal

Terrain [time series]

mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland

Capital [time series]

Kingston

Constitution [time series]

6 August 1962

Digraph [time series]

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Richard BERNAL chancery: Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: (202) 452-0660 consulates general: Miami and New York

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

House of Representatives: last held 30 March 1993 (next to be held by February 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total) PNP 52, JLP 8

Executive branch [time series]

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)

Independence [time series]

6 August 1962 (from UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard COOKE (since 1 August 1991) Head of Government: Prime Minister P. J. PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992)

Legal system [time series]

based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-19, G-77, GATT, G-15, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Country name (Names) [time series]

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day (first Monday in August)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

People's National Party (PNP) P. J. PATTERSON; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward SEAGA

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Government type (Type) [time series]

parliamentary democracy

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Glen A. HOLDEN embassy: Kingston mailing address: 3rd Floor, Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston telephone: (809) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: (809) 926-6743

People

Birth rate [time series]

22.24 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate [time series]

5.72 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian and Afro-East Indian 3%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%, other 1.2%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

17.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force [time series]

1,062,100 by occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%, unemployed 17.5% (1989)

Languages [time series]

English, Creole

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 74.09 years male: 71.92 years female: 76.36 years (1993 est.)

Literacy [time series]

age 15 and over having ever attended school (1990) total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99%

Nationality [time series]

noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican

Net migration rate [time series]

-6.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population [time series]

2,529,981 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

0.96% (1993 est.)

Religions [time series]

Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other, including some spiritual cults 39.1% (1982)

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.47 children born/woman (1993 est.)